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Politics

Senator's son convicted of battery on police officer

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published June 28, 2007

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ORLANDO - A jury on Wednesday convicted the son of Sen. Bill Nelson on charges of battery on a police officer and resisting arrest stemming from an incident that occurred after a re-election party in November.

Charles William Nelson, 31, faces a maximum penalty of six years in prison but could also get no jail time. Sentencing was scheduled for July 31 by Orange County Circuit Judge Stan Strickland.

"While we are disappointed with the verdict, we respect our system of justice, " said Sen. Nelson and his wife, Grace, in a statement issued in Washington. "And we love our son and support him during this difficult time in his life."

Jurors deliberated just a few hours Wednesday before returning the verdict. A misdemeanor charge of public intoxication was thrown out by Strickland, who said no evidence was introduced to support it.

The incident took place a few hours after a party to celebrate the Nov. 7 victory by Sen. Nelson, a Democrat, over Republican Katharine Harris.

Police say the younger Nelson was trying to carry a woman who had passed out on a sidewalk and pushed an officer after he was ordered to put her down. The senator's son was pepper-sprayed and handcuffed by police.

The younger Nelson, who declined comment after the verdict was announced, did not testify in his own defense. But his lawyers argued to the jury that Nelson did not recognize the person he pushed was a police officer because he was wearing a bicycle patrol uniform rather than a standard uniform.